Wade steps outside to help Heat step up in rout of Pacers

MIAMI — For all the heights he has reached during his seven NBA seasons, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade entered Tuesday's 113-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers at somewhat of a low point, rated 118th in 3-point percentage of the 119 players with enough conversions to quality for a league ranking.

Tuesday's lesson? Statistics lie.

At just 34 of 124 on 3-pointers entering the night, a .274 percentage that had him ahead of only New York's Wilson Chandler on the league's 3-point list, Wade's line read 3 of 3 from beyond the arc in his 18-point first quarter. By halftime, when the Heat led 62-43, his 3-point ledger was 4 of 6.

"I'm shooting a lot before the games," he said. "It's coming off my hand a little easier now. You never know until you try it."

Granted, there was some help along the way, with Pacers forward Troy Murphy called for a goaltend on one of Wade's 3-pointers.

But it's not as if Wade needed much assistance on a 32-point night that included a seat on the bench for a fourth quarter that began with the Heat up 85-58.

"He's been in a nice rhythm," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's been working so much on his shooting. He's gotten into a good groove."

Wade's long-distance performance left the Pacers shaking their heads.

"He's pretty much unguardable," forward Danny Granger said. "We wanted to bait him into contested 3-pointers, and that didn't work tonight.

"When he has it going from the 3-point line, it opens up everything else for him."

Pacers center Roy Hibbert also exited shaking his head.

"We could have put anybody on him and he would have done the same thing," he said. "He hit tough shots."

For a while, it was get it to Wade and get out of the way.

"When he's that hot," point guard Rafer Alston said, "you just know to get the ball up to number three and let him operate."

To many, this set up as a trap game, with the Heat coming off a 3-3 Western Conference trip and about to start a two-game trip. It was the Heat's lone home game in a 17-day span.

But with Wade setting the tone by shooting 7 of 8 in the first quarter, the Heat assured itself of a winning record at the season's midpoint, which it reaches Wednesday in Charlotte, with its 21-19 record.

"It was a professional, business game," Spoelstra said. "It was good to be home."

Wade was supported by 21 points and 10 rebounds from forward Michael Beasley, with the Heat shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 10 of 17 on 3-pointers.

"We are just playing with a sense of urgency." Beasley said.

While it entered 2-0 against the Pacers in the four-game season series, the Heat won the first meeting with Indiana guard Mike Dunleavy sidelined and the second with Pacers forward Danny Granger out.

This time, the Pacers might have been better off without Granger, who opened 1 of 14 and finished 2 of 16.

Indiana never was able to pose a threat, down 9-0 at the start, the Heat's largest unanswered lead to start a game this season. The Heat then closed the opening period on a 19-4 run.

For at least a night, that put the Heat back into sole possession of fifth place in the Eastern Conference.